The Final Failure
by Guilia
Summary: Leia Organa awaits execution on board the Death Star.


_The characters in this story belong to George Lucas._

Leia Organa opened her eyes. The opposite wall was only a few feet away, and the surface under her was hard and uncomfortable. Her hip ached from the weight of her body pressing into the bench, and her arms were numb and tingling under her head. Her heart thudded two anxious beats in her chest as she realized where she was. The panic was immediate and it woke her completely with the next heartbeat. She assumed she had awoken for a reason and she stared at the door, waiting for her captor to show himself.

But the man she was expecting did not appear. Instead of the relief she should have felt, Leia felt only apathy. She supposed that if she lived long enough the shock and grief of losing her family, her home, and her people would overwhelm her but she was well aware that she'd be joining them in only a few hours. The Leia who was just sixteen hours younger would have been dismayed to see herself now. She was well aware that even as a young girl she had been an almost intolerable spitfire. Though eighteen years of training and maturity had softened her, Leia Organa's temper and obstinate nature was still very much a part of her. She supposed that had she not witnessed the station actually destroying her planet, she would be tearing her nails to shreds trying to find a weakness somewhere in her holding cell.

Defeat was a new experience for Leia. She had never before accepted defeat. Losses were inevitable in life, and as she had learned quickly, inevitable in politics as well. This was different. This was utter and complete defeat and she was dismayed to realize it destroyed all that she thought she was. Leia had always prided herself as a fighter. She had fought to the end, right up until Tarkin had given the order to fire. It was then she had understood what her father had been trying to get her to understand after her first session in the Imperial Senate.

Fear she had understood and had been what she expected. She had had three weeks after winning her election to study the legislation that was expected to come to the Senate floor for voting. All of them had at least one clause she had objected to, but she did understand politics well enough to know she couldn't vote against uniform education without destroying her career just because there was a clause apportioning fifteen million credits to fuel mining subsidies.

There had been one bill she was prepared to fight. The title, "Anti-Terrorist Defense Strategy," was carefully constructed to generate a positive impression of the bill. Just as Leia had known voting against "Uniform Education" had been unwise, so too did she know a vote against "Anti-Terrorism" and "Defense" was just as dangerous.

It had been the brainchild of Tarkin himself, according to her father, and Leia had chosen it as the one and only piece of legislature she would lobby against. She had nominated Winter, her sometime handmaiden, confidant, and childhood playmate as her Senatorial Aide. Leia and Winter had run themselves ragged in their naïve idealism. They had spent a week and a half researching and collecting every piece of information they could find on the other senators. Leia had arrived on Imperial Center a little more than a week before the seasons' session was to begin and she had arrived prepared.

She had begun her campaign as the youngest Galactic Senator in history with gusto, prepared to shame her elder counterparts with her bravery and her integrity. Winter had quickly become frustrated trying to arrange and schedule meetings between Leia and the other senators. The meetings that did take place had surprised Leia. The beings seated across from her in their upper-level offices didn't seem frightened, nor did they seem to feel anything for Leia other than pity.

Three weeks of work and struggle had culminated in Leia's one and only week in the Imperial Senate, and it had been a complete disaster. She had quietly voted in favor of everything other than the Anti-Terrorist Defense Strategy. When the call for speeches went out, she had pressed the queue button with the fire of righteousness burning in her heart. When her turn came, she had tampered the quiver in her voice that threatened to arise and delivered her speech. Her efforts before the session had been in vain. She had neither secured the number of meetings she had hoped, nor had she gained the allegiance of even one senator. This speech was her final chance to fight her battle.

She had given what she considered an impassioned speech, decrying the power that would be granted to the military to arrest and detain for any length of time any person accused or suspected of terrorist activity. It also granted special military powers in a "crisis or terrorist situation" that protected any officer or enlisted man in the Imperial armed forces from being charged with a crime under the jurisdiction of any law enforcement agency other than the Imperial courts. She had explained all of this, hoping that bringing the content of this bill into light would prompt enough senators to vote against it. The response in the senate chambers had nearly drowned out most of her speech, and it had not been in support of her. After Leia's pod had returned to her station, she sat through three hours of speeches that unraveled any strides she may have made.

The speeches that followed hers had been full of insults and accusations of terrorist sympathizing. They had defended the need to allow the military the power it needed defuse violent situations as quickly and efficiently as possible. They had defended the integrity of the officers and troopers who would be granted the power to act with full immunity from local and regional governments. They had accused Leia of valuing the rights of terrorists over the safety and lives of honest citizens. When the call to vote came, it was only Leia and seventeen other senators who voted against the bill.

She had returned home crushed and disheartened. Her father hadn't said much to her, but she knew he had watched the session on the HoloNet and knew that her efforts had failed. She had expected him to try to comfort her, but he had seemed to feel she needed time to reflect. It was not Bail Organa's usual method for dealing with Leia's setbacks, but she at first appreciated the time to reflect on her time on Imperial Center. As it approached one month since her arrival home, Leia began to worry that her father had disapproved of the way she handled the situation. She knew he agreed with her position, but he had left it entirely in hers and Winter's hands to manage Leia's first journey to Imperial Center as the senator from Alderaan.

At four weeks since her arrival, Leia was sitting alone on the south balcony of the palace late in the night. Her face was turned to the sky and her eyes were watching the stars, but her mind was pondering her future career. The public opinion polls had been delivered earlier that day, and Leia had not been surprised to see that her numbers were extremely low. She knew she was popular on Alderaan still, but public opinion on other systems was almost more important if she was to ever gain influence in the Imperial Senate. As she was contemplating her future, three ships dropped from the upper atmosphere and swooped down to the palace landing pads just to the east of her. She had a good view of the platform from the balcony she was seated on, and she was concerned to see about a dozen cloaked and helmeted beings disembark.

Leia had jumped up from her seat, ready to run back into the palace screaming for security when she was stopped in her tracks by the sight of her father greeting the visitors in apparent goodwill. Bail was wearing a cloak as well, but Leia recognized his walk and his mannerisms immediately. She leaned over the railing hoping to overhear some of the conversation that was taking place, but she was too far away from the group.

They did not seem comfortable holding their conversation in the open since several of them kept glancing around the platform as if they expected guards to suddenly jump out of hiding and arrest them. Bail led them quickly inside, and the platform lights turned off.

Leia stood on the balcony for some time, trying to figure out what the clandestine meeting could possibly be about. Her father had not appeared tense, so it seemed the visitors were friends or allies. Leia's curiosity was burning in her mind as she turned towards the lit hallway. She paused to see her father walking out of her room and glance in both directions as if looking for her. He could not see her in the darkness of the balcony, but Leia had a good view of him. On closer inspection, Bail did seem tense to her.

Her father jumped when he saw her, then gave her an affectionate smile. He had quickly informed her of their visitors, then asked her to join him in the conference room. Leia might have questioned the strangeness of the late night meeting, but she was too afraid he'd change his mind and send her back to her room. Never before had he involved her in matters of state other than the formal dinners and parties he usual held in honor of special guests.

Bail opened the conference doors, then stepped aside to allow Leia to enter first. When she walked into the room, she was standing in front of the visitors she saw her father greeting on the east platform. She began to feel uneasy when she noticed there were only nine of them in the room when there had been at least a dozen on the landing pad. All nine guests were also seated on the side of the table opposite her, as if they were a panel of judges and Leia was about to be accused. Their hoods and helmets still obscured and covered their faces, making her feel acutely vulnerable.

Leia heard her father close and lock the door, and he walked around the table to seat himself in one of the empty seats across from her. Leia stood nervously waiting for him to give her some indication as to what she was expected to do. He sat down, gave her a comforting smile, and gestured for her to sit across from him. After Leia sat down, the visitors began removing their helmets and lowering the hoods of their cloaks. With the exception of the lone woman, Leia did not recognize a single person. The woman seemed highly familiar, and Leia struggled to place her.

"Our guests are here because I have called them Leia. I am going to share something with you that I have tried very hard to hide, but it's something I believe you may have already suspected," Bail said, then paused as if waiting for a response from her. Leia simply stared at him. She couldn't imagine what she was supposed to say. The entire situation was unreal.

"Twenty years ago, myself and several others formed what is now referred to as the Rebel Alliance. The Imperial networks have labeled us as terrorists and traitors, but I assure you peace, and not war, has always been the primary goal of the Rebel Alliance. You know my feelings towards violence, and I know that you understand probably better than anyone that I condone any military activity with only the heaviest of hearts and only in most desperate of situations," he said. Leia had struggled to find something to say in response to his shocking confession. She wished she could say that she had known or even suspected that he had been involved with the Rebel Alliance, much less founded it, but she could not. That he was a Rebel was not surprising. Leia knew her father's politics were, like hers, staunchly anti-Imperial. What was shocking to Leia was that she had been so ignorant of her father's activities her whole life.

The woman had then spoken and announced herself as Mon Mothma, the senator from Chandrila. Leia had been shown images of the woman who had previously been the youngest senator elected to serve, but she hadn't connected the girlish features from those images with the woman seated across from her. She had then been introduced to the others and had recognized Jan Dodonna after hearing his voice. She had known him as a small child and he used to bring her candies and exotic treats and call her "Bail's little general." The others had names that were familiar to her, names that she had heard her father say, though never in any context that she understood who they were.

After the introductions were over, Mon Mothma again spoke to her. "You have been called here, Leia, because we have been watching you. Your bravery and integrity in your first few weeks as senator have been noted and admired by everyone involved with the Rebel Alliance. Your father wished to protect you by keeping you away from and clean of the suspicion of Rebel activity, but he has realized that you are quintessentially your father's daughter and your politics will bring attention from Imperial intelligence. In addition to being a danger for you, it is also a danger for your father to be under closer scrutiny than he already is. We are here to offer you an alliance, and the opportunity to know that there are many who share both your ideals and your commitment to justice and democracy."

Leia had been surprised when Jan Dodonna, apparently a general of the Alliance troops had shared with her the number of starships, weapons, troops, monetary support, and governmental allegiance the Rebel Alliance already possessed. She had then been asked to officially join their cause, and promised what protection and support they had to offer. Leia did not have to hesitate to accept. Here were the people she had been hoping to meet on the senate floor.

They left in the same manner they arrived, but this time Leia stood next to her father and watched them leave. It was then that Bail delivered the speech Leia had been expecting ever since her arrival from Imperial Center. He told her that the Alliance was intensifying their efforts as apathy in senate further smothered any sense of democracy left in the galaxy and that the Imperial Senate was now awash in bribery, intimidation, and deception. He had been anxious allowing her to go without him, but he had felt it was necessary for her to take those first steps on her own.

Six weeks later, Bail had come to Leia with her first mission. She was to use her senatorial position as a cover for an intelligence mission. After learning of the Death Star's existence and it's rumored capabilities, Leia had departed on the Tantive IV with her father's blessing. When they had been boarded by Vader's troops, Leia had been ready to lay down her life fighting. During the boarding, she had picked up a blaster for the first time in her life. She had expected to feel overwhelmed with guilt when she shot one of the troopers approaching her. The guilt had come, as had sorrow, but she had mostly felt numb. On some level, she recognized that the Imperial forces had openly attacked her ship and the stormtrooper could have just as easily killed her. To shoot a blaster had gone against her upbringing and her father's ideals, but Leia felt deep in her heart that protecting the plans to the Death Star was far more important than a clean conscience. The Death Star had to be stopped, and Leia was prepared to do everything and anything necessary to facilitate the destruction of that battle station.

Leia sixteen hours ago had still been ready to fight, ready to die, and most importantly, ready to kill to see her mission succeed. Leia now knew that she had failed just as surely as she had failed to stop the bill that made it legal for Vader and Tarkin to arrest and execute her without trial. The most bitter corner of Leia's soul was relieved to know her father would never know how that she had failed her mission. It was possible he had died without even knowing that the Death Star was in orbit. Even if he had known, he could not have known that Leia had been captured and the plans had been left with an old astromech droid. Leia sixteen hours ago had hope that the droid would find General Kenobi and the plans would be delivered to Alderaan. She knew that she might face charges of treason, may even face execution, but it was an acceptable fate should her mission succeed.

What hope Leia had that the astromech could escape the ship, much less elude Imperial troops long enough to find General Kenobi, had died along with Alderaan. It had been a fool's hope, and Leia had been an idealistic fool.

She lay back down on the hard bench that had been her bed for what now felt like a lifetime. She anticipated her death as a way to release her from her failures and she though she did not necessarily welcome the thought of dying, she wanted it all to be over. Should she return to the Senate now, she would be just as the others. The fight had left her.

She closed her eyes and started to drift to sleep again when her door opened. A stormtrooper rushed into her cell then stopped short, as if he realized he had made a wrong turn. He stood there stupidly for a moment and muttered something Leia did not understand.

"A little short for a stormtrooper?" she asked, needing to hurt in any way she could. She was tired and weaponless, and at her short stature, she knew she had no chance against an experienced trooper.

"Hunh?" the trooper asked. Leia began to grow confused. She glanced behind the trooper to see if another trooper or Vader himself was standing in the hallway. Imperial standards dictated that all prisoners be escorted by at least two troopers.

"Oh the uniform!" he said, then pulled off the helmet. She had always wondered what stormtroopers looked like underneath the black and white helmets they wore, but she was confused when she saw the face of this one. He was young, very young. Leia immediately guessed him to be her age or younger. He had light blond hair and earnest blue eyes, and when he looked at her, there was a sense of urgency in his countenance.

"I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you," he said excitedly.

"You're who?" she asked. Her father had made her memorize the names of all his current and potential allies, in case she might have need of assistance and could not contact him. It was how she had known to find General Kenobi when Captain Antilles had informed her they were orbiting Tatooine. To her knowledge, Leia had never heard her father say the name "Skywalker."

"I'm here to rescue you," he said again with exasperation. "I've got your R2 unit. I'm here with Ben Kenobi." Upon hearing the name Kenobi, Leia again felt the hope she had held onto until Tarkin had ordered his men to fire on Alderaan.

"Ben Kenobi!" she exclaimed.

Her father had given her a different name for General Kenobi, but the fact that this young man also mentioned her droid made her want to shout with satisfaction. She knew rationally at the time she gave the plans to the droid that it was probably not as smart as hiding them somewhere on the ship where Imperial troops may not find them. One lonely astromech droid could easily be tracked and captured by troops on the Star Destroyer that took them captive. She'd had a moment of indecision as the squat blue and white droid sat in front of her, but then she had just known that it would work. She felt it with the same certainty that she was Leia Organa, of Alderaan. Leia jumped off the bench.

"Where is he?" Leia asked with the same excitement he had shown her. All the young man replied was "Come on," but Leia was already heading through the open door and into the hallway.

She could hear Luke lumbering awkwardly behind her, the armor was so big on him it interfered with his movement. She could see the control room in front of her. She couldn't see any guards or officers, so she assumed that whoever had come with Luke had killed them.

She heard a man yelling then, and saw a giant Wookie and another man in stormtrooper armor running headlong down the hallway towards them. She stopped for a moment in confusion. It was highly unlikely the Wookie was an Imperial trooper, and the man in stormtrooper armor was not wearing a helmet. She was wondering why they were running when the first blaster bolt hit the wall beside her and she dove for cover behind the wall to her right.

Leia wanted to scream with frustration when she saw how many troops began to fill the control center, blocking their way out. Luke's body slammed into hers, and Leia nearly bit his head off. She glanced across the hallway at the man and the Wookie and saw them returning fire. Apparently these individuals were part of the rescue team. Leia glance behind them to see if there were more operatives further down the hallway. She was worried when she realized the four of them were alone against the troopers, but Leia also realized she didn't have much experience with Rebel operations. She supposed the rest of the team was probably guarding the escape ship.

"Can't get out that way," the man informed them.

"It looks like you've managed to cut off our only escape route," she said. Leia hadn't intended the remark as an insult, though she was annoyed to see that she was likely to either be killed in the gun battle or captured again after her saviors were hurt or killer. The older man apparently did not appreciate her comment.

"Maybe you'd like it back in your cell, your highness," he said sarcastically. Leia was struck dumb for a moment. This was not what she imagined Rebel troops to be like. Since she discovered her father's involvement with the Rebel Alliance, she'd pictured Rebel operatives to be more like her father or Jan Dodonna. Both were the kindest men she had ever known, and they held themselves to a standard Leia was afraid she would never be able to live up to.

A Wookie, an unkempt middle-aged man with an attitude, and an excitable youth were very far from the image Leia had constructed in her mind. Luke pulled out a comlink and began to yell into it. Leia guessed a droid was at the other end of it. She could hear Luke calling "Threepio!"

She couldn't hear the response, but she knew what it was going to be when Luke turned to Han and then her with a grim look on his face. "There isn't any other way out," he said.

The despair hit her so hard Leia actually thought for a moment she'd been hit by a blaster shot. It was unfair, that she should come so close to escape and have it taken away. She wondered how many other operatives were involved in this mission and she felt guilty that they should all die on her behalf. She had not seen the Death Star herself, but she had been told how large it was before she set out on her mission, and she knew the likelihood of escaping from a base this size was extremely low.

"I can't hold them off forever! Now what?" the older man asked.

Leia's frustration burst from her and she snarled back, "This is some rescue. When you came in here, didn't you have a plan for getting out?"

"He's the brains sweetheart," the older man pointed at Luke. Leia turned her gaze to Luke in disbelief. Suddenly she realized that this was no planned, organized Rebel operation. She was being rescued by two hotshots and a Wookie who somehow had discovered that she was being held onboard. Her fate was not in the hands of operatives who had training and experience extricating fellow Rebels from Imperial prison. She was simply standing behind a boy who had somehow managed to convince a middle-aged man and a Wookie to fight their way into the detention block apparently without even the slightest consideration as to how they would then get out.

Luke glanced back at her and shrugged sheepishly. He started to say something, but Leia wasn't listening. She had been so optimistic when she had joined the Alliance. Her disastrous three weeks on Imperial Center had seemed like a necessary step to convince the Rebel leaders and her father that she had the conviction and the strength to be a Rebel leader, and she had allowed herself to even feel proud of her work. She had shown her mettle, and had won the regard of those that mattered most to her. Then she'd been given her first mission and finally she was going to make the difference she had hoped to make on the Senate floor.

The last few hours had been devastating for her. She had witnessed first hand that her work and her dedication had been in vain. Everything she had held dear was now gone. She had even lost herself.

Leia looked at the young man next to her, and felt an inexplicable rush of fondness and an understandable rush of sympathy. Luke had somehow managed to convince the other two to follow him into the cell block apparently because she was there and he had wanted to help her. It was a stupid thing to do, since he had led them to their deaths, but Leia understood him because she had also been that idealistic. Before her capture, she probably would have tried the same thing if she had known a Rebel leader was captured, so committed to her cause was she.

As she considered Luke and his situation, Leia began to feel guilty. He and his friends had risked their lives for her, and now they were going to die. She glanced across the hall to the other two, wanting to find the words to express her gratitude for their efforts and to apologize for her rudeness earlier. The man was engrossed in the fire fight, and the Wookie seemed intent on covering him. Leia's gaze dropped to the wall behind the man's legs. And then she knew what she had to do.

_I am Leia Organa, and I am a fighter_.

She grabbed the blaster out of Luke's hands.


End file.
